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“This is a sample sent with my Christmas order to Mandala Tea. It is soooooo good I think another order is warranted. I shared this with my best friend this evening and we were resteeping a single...”
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“I’ve been drinking this all afternoon since we got back from the mall and it’s been a great way to sit, relax and calm down. Just needed some down time to not do much of anything.”
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From Mandala Tea

We are so excited to offer this one-of-a-kind grade 1 ripe pu’er. We were so impressed by this material that we commissioned an entire MandalaTea private label pressing, our well-enjoyed “Phatty Cake”

The leaf was picked in spring 2006 and ripened using light/moderate fermentation in 2007, leaving tons of room for maturation despite the fact that at the time of this writing it is already 4 years old. This is one delicious ripe tea, with slight hints of spearmint on the tongue and a rich aroma that is definitely a departure from any other ripe tea.

Rest easy knowing that you are drinking a tea grown wildly in the most pristine tea growing region of China. You can’t get near this arbor by road and there are no cities within miles, hence no pollution for this tea to breathe.

We think you’ll love this wonderful exclusive offering from MandalaTea!

24 Tasting Notes

This is a sample sent with my Christmas order to Mandala Tea. It is soooooo good I think another order is warranted. I shared this with my best friend this evening and we were resteeping a single teaspoon of leaf in a tiny 8 ounce pot. We had gingerbread almond biscotti with it. Delicious!

Sipdown, 142. Yes, my number went up substantially after that Teavivre package. Well, nothing to do but keep sipping down. Thanks to Sil for a sample of this one.

So keep trying with puers but I haven’t been able to get into them. This makes up Mandala’s phatty cake that everyone raves about, so once again this is a tea that am trying as a semi-last ditch effort to try a type of tea I tend not to care for.

I will say, this is the sweetest shu I’ve ever tried, at least on the first couple of steeps. But otherwise all I get is wood. Sweet wood, haha. I’m afraid I still don’t get shu. Oh well.

Whoamygosh this is amazing. It smells so good dry—the mint sets it apart, it isn’t strong or overpowering but just there enough to keep the earthiness in check. There’s the usual earthy, almost mushroomy aroma, but also a bit of chocolate (starts out like bittersweet chocolate, then at the end of the sip there’s a lingering sweetness), some leather, and even a bit of tobacco—if you know me you know these are all smells I adore. There is still what I’d call a faint fishiness initially but it’s much softer here and recedes almost immediately upon smelling the other things. Either that or I’m just getting used to it, ha. Anyway, I rinsed this time and made sure everything stayed hothot. Brews up deep dark. Steeped the aroma is very leathery while the flavor has that wonderful, odd mintiness that clears the air a bit of the more expected pu erh flavors. Makes me feel like I’m in an old private library full of leatherbound books and furniture, one with a window open next to a forest that just got rained on. Cleaned up but still full of all those mysterious things like soil and leather. I love how complex the interaction between that subtle but ever-present mint and everything else is—the mint both contrasts with everything but also somehow sharpens it all, makes the earthy elements more distinct. Wow. This is precisely the group of aromas I seek out when I buy little vials of rare, unusual perfume. The kind I buy so that sometimes, after dinner and before bedtime in the dark cold months, I can pop one open alone in my warmly lit bedroom and just take in the fragrance and be transported, writing in my perfume diary. A full-on experience. It’s dare I say it masculine, and clean, and well, sexy. Wow!

Preparation

Yes, pu-erhs can be very masculine, but not in a bad way! I think the mint element is what I don’t find appealing about this one. I’ve tended to prefer pu-erhs without the minty vibe. shrug to each his own :)

I love “masculine” scents and flavors, so yeah, for sure. I can definitely see how the minty vibe could be unwelcome to some, but I think for me it’s a good transitional easing into pu erh’s full on earthy funkiness. Ha.

I think it would be kind of neat to do a cheesy sort of “yin and yang” tea tasting sometime with so-called feminine profiled teas—light, with roses or lavender and fruit, say—and masculine ones too, and then maybe ones I think bridge the gap.

Yes, white for sure! And maybe flowering even. I think Flowery Pineapple Oolong would be good, and/or Champagne Rose and Cream. American Tea Room’s Victoria. White Jasmine would be a no brainer except I don’t really like jasmine much…

I decided to break this out and have an afternoon shu here at home. There is construction going on across the street which means if I’m at home I get to hear hammering all day. Oof. Not my idea of fun. For this and other reasons I’ve been thinking about buying noise reducing headphones — generally my neighborhood is kind of noisy.

This is a yummy shu however. I went out with a friend last night and we had too many birthday margaritas. I don’t feel that bad today but I know puerh is supposed to be good after a night of drinking anyway. So… why not?

I like this when it’s steeped for shorter periods of time, 10 – 15 seconds seem to do the trick. Then the cocoa notes really come out, and this is incredibly dark and rich with spearmint dancing around the cup. I definitely think I will be ordering more of this once the current supply runs out. It’s so smooth…

Preparation

Puerh is kind of a masculine tea isn’t it? Not in a bad way at all, and especially not with THIS puerh. Leather and tobacco notes and an earthy smoothness. This is like the George Clooney of puerhs. Even if you don’t particularly find him attractive you still GET why he’s considered so sexy. I can totally appreciate this puerh, and while I may never actually buy some, its definitely an excellent puerh! ;)

I’m still planning on buying some Special Dark. That one blew me away! So unique :)

I LOVE this review! Thanks for putting it down for others to read! We had a gentleman in the shop the other day. He was from Germany. I made this tea for him and as he smelled and sipped, his eyes teared up a little bit. Then he shared with me that the tea fully brought on a memory of his mothers very old leather bound bible and consequently, he thought of her. It was a beautiful moment. Tea can do things like that, can’t it?

Yay, Im back everyone! Its been an interesting winter so far, and i have just been enjoying my teas, havent really felt a need to write anything on Steepster lately. Well, i just received my first order from Mandala Tea and am definitely enjoying myself! And fear not Verdant, i am now enrolled in the TOTM Reserve, I just had to try some other vendors to expand my horizons :)
And expanded they have become: This Lincang shu puer is a very interesting tea! As many know, i am very weary of puer and the “fishy/moldy” smell that can sometimes be found. I am learning that this may be the post fermentation smell, and i have since found that it is really just a smell, and doesnt translate into taste by any means. And i can say that This Loose and Luscious Lincang does not have those “off notes.”
This is an earthy puer. Very mellow, yet thick and full bodied. I definitely get some mushroom notes, yet i also detect some woodiness…I cant perceive what kind of wood(im not that knowledgeable unfortunately) but the smell is pleasant! The taste is THICK! Coating the tongue, and not drying or astringent at all. Again i taste mushrooms, wood, and a very slight sweetness that keeps the tongue and mouth from drying.

I am pleased with this tea! On about my 5th gong fu infusion right now, im sure i could go at least 10-15…Ill see if i can get to 10 tonight!

I will have some other Mandala Teas to describe/rate in the upcoming days…The 09 Bulang ripe, 05 Gong Ting ripe, Simao Black tea, and the Aged TGY :) Also two very generous samples of the 4 Leaf Blend ripe, and “Noble Mark” Mandala Blend ’12 ripe!
Thank you Garret for the wonderful selection, and Happy New Years to you as well!

Oh ya, almost forgot. Prepared in my normal method for puer, 5g/5oz water, 2 rinses, and short 3-5 second steeps for the first 3 cups, a couple seconds added to each steeping thereafter.

Hey Bonnie! Yes it is definitely some good drinkn :) Almost has some qualities that would be associated with a sheng puer, but not drying or astringent… An interesting tea for sure!
How was your Christmas and New Years? I was in Florida with the family, so it was nice to be warm for a change. And of course i brought Laoshan Black, Shui Xian and BRR with me so i didnt go through tea withdrawal!

Great holiday with family and it snowed Christmas Day! Try something different and do a 30 second steep sometime to see what that’s like. Then, later try a little sugar, then some milk or cream. I play with puerh.

Preparation

Thank you for writing about your experience with the tea. I really do love this one and am so happy you do, too. This was one that I tasted in Kunming and new i had to buy a bunch of. This is the leaf that was pressed in to the Phatty Cake in 2010, as well as part of what makes up the Phatty Cake II pressed quite recently. I’m glad you picked up on the minty presence that is there. Not everyone does. Again, thank you for sharing!

Thank you for sipping, enjoying and writing about it, my friend! This same loose material was what we used to press in the 2011 Phatty Cake. And it was also used (in addition with a slightly larger grade leaf from same producer, same year) to press Phatty Cake II: the sequel. Definitely worth a try.

One of the things we hear over and over again on this loose leaf is how it makes people think of old, leather-bound books. We had a man from Germany in our tea shop on Saturday and I prepared some of this tea for him. He loved it and starting tearing up a little when he described that the tea was invoking the memory of his mother’s old, leatherbound Bible. He said he hadn’t thought of the book in many years. A good memory association brought on by great tea. What a neat thing it was to be a part of that. Needless to say, he left with a stash this tea :)

Bought this to share with my Dad for Father’s Day and I was not disappointed — Mandala delivers again! This is the same material used in their highly touted Phatty Cake (which I have yet to try).

This tea brews a beautiful deep brassy-red cup. The brew is exceptionally smooth, without any harsh leather, shellfish or inky notes and offers a unique clarity, devoid of murkiness, that I have not encountered in any other Pu-ehrs. This is an easy drinker for sure — my Father, who had literally never had a Pu-Ehr before, really (really!) enjoyed this tea. As I was showing him how to use his new gaiwan I heard him say under his breath “this is awesome”. The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree!

I still consider myself relatively new to Shou Pu-ehrs, having only tasted roughly half a dozen or so, and really only being familiar with two, so for now I am going to withhold a rating. I will say that this is my favorite Pu-ehr I have had to date.

Thanks for writing about this, my friend!! I loved your review!! I also loved the pic you sent of your tea sesh with your Dad. So cool!! I just scored the very last of this leaf from the producer along with some grade 3 (slightly larger) leaf and did a blend. The new cakes of it are on their way from China as we speak!!! Can’t wait. It will be called “Phatty Cake 2: The Sequel” The leaf you just reviewed was the same tea that I used to press the original Phatty Cake, still our best selling pu’er tea in the history of our little company. You may want to try one of those cakes sometime before they are gone! Wishing you great joy! Grateful, Garret